Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court

The Pressure to Set Records

There was pressure as we approached tying or setting various records, but it was always the pressure I put on myself to get our team ready to play an opponent. That was the pressure, not an obsesssion with winning.

The real pressure during the week was put on me by me to make absolutely sure I did everything I could do to make sure our team was prepared properly.

I liked to think that by game time my work was virtually done, that I could almost go up into the stands and watch the game without saying a word because my team was so well prepared. I wouldn’t literally go into the stands, of course, but I knew that if I did watch a team of mine from up there, I would be able to tell by their effort and performance whether ...